Jacks are commonly affixed to trailers. A jack may be affixed to a trailer near the tongue of a trailer, and near the point of attachment of the trailer to a vehicle. A jack allows the tongue of the trailer to be elevated above the ball or other connection point on the trailer hitch of the vehicle. A ball may be positioned underneath the tongue of the trailer while the jack holds the tongue of the trailer in an elevated position. The jack is used to lower the tongue of the trailer onto the ball of the trailer hitch for connection of the trailer to the vehicle. When the trailer is disconnected from the vehicle, the jack is used to raise the tongue of the trailer hitch above a ball or other connection point on the vehicle, so that the vehicle can be driven away without the trailer.
Trailer jacks in common use are elevated and lowered by a winding mechanism. The winding mechanism may be a gear and pinion, or a screw-type threaded member. In order to gain the necessary mechanical advantage, it takes many rotations of the handle of the jack to elevate or lower the jack the required distance to elevate the tongue of the trailer away from the trailer hitch, or to lower the tongue of the trailer onto the trailer hitch of the vehicle. Such jacking devices are slow and time consuming, and may be fatiguing to the user, due to the number of rotations of the handle that are required to lower or elevate the tongue of the trailer.
There is a need for a device that will quickly, easily and simply elevate and lower the tongue of a trailer.